


Kindling

by SomniumAvis



Series: yes, we're the ones who started this fire [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Gen, Light Angst, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Prequel, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24544693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomniumAvis/pseuds/SomniumAvis
Summary: Midoriya Izuku, a Quirkless child living in District 12, manages to scrape by living off what little he and Inko have, living under the cruel ways of the Capitol and the poverty of their district. So, when he sees the chance to do more, he takes it.
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Series: yes, we're the ones who started this fire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773937
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	Kindling

**Author's Note:**

> This is prequel to a longfic, the first chapter of which will be coming out sometime in the next few weeks. 
> 
> I've adjusted the ages of a few characters in this AU for story purposes.

Life was never easy in District 12, the poorest district in the country of Yuuei. On top of the Hunger Games, there were never enough supplies to go around, with all of the district save for the two current victors going hungry. The victors would sometimes make rounds, delivering food, but it was never enough. 

Life was hard enough - without the ridicule that came from being Quirkless. But Izuku had no other choice but to keep living, because what would Inko do without his help? Her apothecary shop was difficult to run, with many shortages of supplies and herbs. 

So, with his father having died in a mine accident when he was too young to remember him, Izuku would scavenge through the district streets, searching for whatever was of use. 

* * *

Izuku and Kacchan had spent hours together wondering what it was like to be a victor. Wouldn’t it be nice, to live a life safe from hunger and desperation? Out of the two surviving victors of the only three victors of District 12, Yagi Toshinori was the more memorable. He had faced the Games and the Capitol with a smile and his enormous power, fighting the other tributes only in self-defence and showing his opponents nothing but respect. Like Yagi Toshinori, Kacchan wanted to _win_.

He got a bit closer to that step four years after his Quirk manifested. 

Kacchan left when they were eight. After his Quirk was registered and it only started to grow in strength, Peacekeepers came for him. Both Izuku and Mom were there, along with the rest of the Bakugou family, as the Peacekeepers announced that Kacchan could leave District 12 and train in District 2 to become a Peacekeeper, because of the potential his Quirk had in combat. In return, his family would be able to live in District 2 comfortably. Of course, this was only if said trainee agreed. 

As someone whose life had been plagued with hunger and watching others starve, Kacchan had made the choice easily enough. 

The thing Izuku could remember best about that night was the almost fearful look on Kacchan’s face as he boarded the train with his parents, flanked by Peacekeepers. 

* * *

It was nice here, in the Meadow. About two years had passed since Kacchan left for District 2, and the dull ache that came from missing his earliest friend had started subsiding. Izuku sat perched in a tree holding a basket of dandelions he had gathered for dinner one spring evening, watching the sun dip down in the sky. He often came here, to forage for plants that he knew were edible. 

Suddenly, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Izuku sat still, hoping that his small, thin stature and the darkening shadows would keep him hidden among the branches of the tree. He silently watched a thin, skeletal man with bright blond hair duck under a loose wire in the fence that separated District 12 from the wilderness. 

With a mix of shock and curiosity in his veins and knowing that he was seeing something that wasn’t supposed to be seen, Izuku leaned forward slightly to get a better view. The man had a full bag and a couple dead rabbits in another burlap bag. It was obvious what he had been doing outside District 12: hunting illegally. 

The man headed off in the direction of the black market, the Hob. Izuku sat still, breathing as quietly as he dared, until the man vanished from view from the Meadow. He waited a little longer, then climbed down the tree and headed home with his basket. 

* * *

Izuku didn’t bring up the topic of what he saw until dinner, where they were feasting on unseasoned dandelion salad over a flame lamp. 

“Mom, I saw something today,” Izuku began quietly. 

“Oh? What did you see?” Mom asked. 

“Someone entered the district through the fence, from the woods. It looked like he was hunting in there. He had a bag full of what had to be food he gathered from there, and some dead rabbits,” Izuku said in a rush. 

“What?!” 

“I know what I saw, Mom.” 

“Izuku, he could have been dangerous!” she fretted. 

“It’s okay! I’m pretty sure he didn’t see me.” Izuku shoved another forkful of dandelion into his mouth to buy time so he didn’t have to speak. 

“Alright. Isn’t the fence supposed to be electrified, though?” 

Izuku swallowed his mouthful of dandelion. “Mom, you know we barely get any electricity here. We usually get about, what, two hours in the evening? It must be the same for the fence. Maybe there’s a way to tell….” He broke off, murmuring quietly to himself in the same habit that often got him ostracized from his classmates (along with his Quirklessness). 

Mom sighed patiently. 

* * *

They didn’t meet for another several months. Izuku headed for the Meadow whenever he had time to spare, but that time had been cut short due to a sickness outbreak that had people coming to his mother’s shop for whatever treatment they could afford. He had spent much of the time helping around, as there were too many patients for Mom alone to deal with. 

The illness going around finally started to cease by about midsummer, but Izuku was still busy by helping Mom in the garden, farming for herbs and what little food they could grow. Autumn came, and Izuku started finding time again to go to the Meadow after school was done. He waited, but didn’t see that man again. 

Winter came, and it was one of the harshest winters Izuku had ever experienced. Normally, him and Mom survived winters by scraping by with what little money they earned to buy food, and not eating much, staying inside wrapped up in thick blankets. But this winter brought a food shortage, and there was barely anything to go around. 

Mom was bedridden with a cold, and Izuku was wandering the empty streets, searching for something, _anything_ , that could be of use. It had been a few hours and night was falling fast, and Izuku was still walking, even though he knew it was futile. A blizzard had set in and he could barely see anything. 

A misstep had him slipping on a patch of ice and crashing to the ground. 

“Are you alright, young man?” a voice called through the howling wind and snow. 

Izuku dragged himself back onto his numb feet, trembling with cold and scanning his surroundings. “I’m okay,” he said through numb lips. “Who’s there?” 

A tall figure stepped out of the storm, steadying him with an outstretched hand when Izuku swayed. The figure pulled down his scarf so Izuku could see his face. 

“You’re...Yagi Toshinori,” Izuku mumbled. He should feel honoured to meet the victor he admired, but it was so, so cold, and he was so tired. 

“Yes, I am. What’s your name, young man?” 

“Midoriya...Izuku,” Izuku forced out. 

“It’s nice to meet you-” Yagi broke off into a coughing fit. 

“Are-” 

Izuku didn’t get to finish asking if he was okay, because steam started coming off Yagi’s figure. When the steam dissipated, he saw the same very thin, tall, blond man that he had seen entering the district through the fence. 

“You-you’ve been hunting in the woods?” came out before Izuku can think. 

Yagi paused before straightening up. “How do you know that?” he asks cautiously. 

“I-I,” Izuku stammered, before spitting out, “I saw you. You were entering through the fence, from the direction of the woods. I was in the Meadow that day, hiding in a tree.” 

“Oh. For a second, I was worried that you were involved with the Hob.” 

“The Hob?” 

“The black market,” Yagi corrected. “I go there to distribute the game I hunt.” 

“You’re a victor! You have everything you need? Why are you risking your life to hunt illegally in the woods?” Izuku asked. He normally would be too shy for this, but he was exhausted and desperate. 

“I used to hunt there before becoming a victor,” Yagi said, “and I continued even after winning the Games. The district needs food, more than I can provide out of my winnings alone. What’s more, it calms me.” 

“Can you teach me?” Izuku asked, finally getting over the surprise that came with discovering that the victor he admired was also illegally hunting in the woods. 

“Excuse me?” 

“I said, can you teach me?” 

Sputtering, Yagi said, “It’s dangerous! You know that you could be executed publicly if the authorities find out, right? And besides, why should you trust me?” 

“I know that I could be killed!” Izuku answered. “But I think a bullet to the head is easier than dying from starvation. And I don’t really know why I should trust you. Maybe I shouldn’t. But we’re against the same enemy, here. And you know what they say: ‘an enemy of my enemy is my friend’.” 

Yagi sighed and gave Izuku a critical glance. “There’s no dissuading you, is there?” 

“No.” 

He sighed again and looked away. “Okay, then. We start in spring.” 

* * *

Mom hadn’t been too happy with Izuku after finding out what he had asked of Yagi in the winter, but the damage had already been done by then. What was more, she knew how badly they needed food and fresh herbs for medicines. 

So, one afternoon, after all of the snow had melted away and the trees were sprouting new leaves, Izuku left school to meet with Yagi by the Meadow. 

Yagi had explained to him about his waning strength and an old wound, after agreeing to teach Izuku, and how it left him with a time limit on his Quirk usage and an emaciated body. He had explained how not many people knew of his “true form” and how it was better that Izuku kept it secret. 

For days after days, Yagi would teach Izuku many things, such as how to set snares, how to clean and gut game, which plants were edible, and how to use a bow and arrows. 

The archery was the hardest part. Izuku would always have trouble holding the bow and actually shooting the arrow, and his aim wasn’t the best. But Yagi would always advise and encourage him, and through practice, Izuku gradually improved. 

A few weeks into their training, Yagi told Izuku, “We’re going into the Hob today, to trade. Something I want to warn you is that many people in the Hob use aliases, especially ones drabbling in illegal business such as hunting in the woods, because it’ll make it harder for the authorities to catch us..” 

“How many people hunt here?” Izuku asked, looking up from the snare he was setting. 

“More than just me, I’m sure,” Yagi replied. “Either way, you’d best come up with a nickname or an alias to go by. Mine is ‘All Might’, by the way.” 

“‘All Might’?” 

“Yes. Please don’t ask questions.” 

* * *

The year flew by in a flurry of school and hunting and trading. 

After entering the Hob and being asked for his name, Izuku had spat out “Deku” as his name, and he was relearning his old insult as something to be proud of. In the black market, Deku was known to be an apprentice of All Might, and the people that respected All Might accepted Deku as one of them. 

Izuku’s archery skills began improving faster than he’d ever expected. Yagi had praised him several times for the accurate shots he had fired. 

The two of them had grown closer as the months passed. After Izuku revealed that he was Quirkless, Yagi had sympathized and told him that his own Quirk didn’t manifest until much later than the age of four. 

On a hot, dry, late spring afternoon, Izuku and Yagi were following their usual game trails when they heard movement in the foliage nearby. They both paused - it sounded like something quite large was moving around. 

The foliage parted and a girl of about Izuku’s age leapt out, holding out a knife. She had long red hair pulled back in a braid and yellow eyes. 

“We’re just passing through,” Yagi said calmly. “What’s your name?” 

“Flare,” she replied. “And you?” 

“They call me All Might,” Yagi said, “and this is Deku.” 

“I’ve heard of you,” Flare said warily. “I’ll stay out of your way in the woods. There’s plenty of room for all of us here.” 

“Likewise,” Yagi said, and they continued on their way, leaving Flare behind. 

The rest of the afternoon passed by without much incident. The sky grew darker, hinting at the sign of a thunderstorm. 

“We should probably head back,” Izuku said after a few hours. “I don’t like the look of that storm.” 

Yagi agreed, and they started back in the direction of the fence, weapons and game slung over their backs. 

Then, lightning leapt down from the sky and struck a tree in the forest as thunder rumbled overhead. To his alarm, Izuku could smell smoke. 

“Forest fire.” Yagi swore under his breath. “It’s hot, and it’s dry. A fire will spread fast in these conditions. Run!” 

Izuku could already see the first flames through the trees. Without much more thought, he followed Yagi in a mad dash to flee away from the flames, fear closing over his throat. 

The flames were closing in quickly, and the air was thick with smoke. Yagi had begun to slow, the smoke further damaging his already damaged respiratory system. 

“All Might!” Izuku stopped at his side when Yagi tripped over a tree root and collapsed to the floor. 

They weren’t going to make it. The fire had already reached them. Smoke burned Izuku’s throat and stung his eyes while he gripped Yagi’s arm and pulled him up, the heat making it hard to breathe along with the smoke. Despair clenched around his heart as warm, painfully bright light bathed their surroundings in orange. 

Then, a lean figure darted towards them. Squinting through the smoke and the glow of the fires, Izuku could make out Flare running towards them as the flames retreated, driven back by some unknown force. 

Flare stopped beside him and Yagi, as the nearby flames grew smaller and smaller and disappeared, leaving behind ashes and burnt foliage. 

“You alright?” she asked hoarsely. 

Izuku nodded, not trusting himself to speak as relief flooded him, and Flare headed away again towards the rest of the blaze before he could say thank you. 

He didn’t know how long it was until she returned. Yagi had managed to get up again by then and they were resting beside a large tree, with most of the forest fire gone. 

“That was your Quirk, wasn’t it?” Izuku managed to ask. “You put out the fire?”

Flare nodded. 

“Thank you. What is your Quirk, exactly?” 

“I can control and manipulate fire, although I can’t make fire myself,” she replied, voice raw. “I need a spark at least, before I can do anything. I can’t make sparks or start fires myself.” 

If Izuku wasn’t so drained at the moment, he would be asking her everything he could think of, trying to analyse her Quirk and its uses. At the moment, he just asked, “And you can put out fires by making them smaller, right?” 

Flare nodded in response. 

It was then that the three of them became an unofficial team. After learning more about Flare’s past (her father taught her the basics of hunting and foraging before he died in a mine accident and she’d been left to provide for her little sister and mother) Yagi had accepted her as a second apprentice. 

They shared knowledge of the woods with each other, teaching each other places with thick berry bushes or clearings with wild turkeys wandering around. After Flare expressed interest in archery, Izuku started teaching her how to shoot, which she picked up on quickly enough. Yagi gave her one of his bows, the same way he had given Izuku one. In the Hob, Izuku and Flare were acknowledged as All Might’s students.

One afternoon, a young deer stumbled upon them. Izuku and Flare both shot at the same time and killed it before it could react, and Yagi had never seemed prouder. They divided the meat, keeping some for themselves and trading off some at the Hob. For the first time in months, both Izuku and Flare were full after eating dinner that night. 

That year, Izuku and Flare both had their first Reaping, for the 96th Hunger Games, and sighs of relief were passed when neither of them were chosen. 

Yagi was forced to go to the Capitol as a mentor due to his status as a victor, along with the other victor of District 12. Izuku and Flare relied heavily on each other in the woods without their teacher going with them. But the uneasiness that came from going without a teacher vanished when the Games were over (without a District 12 victor) and Yagi returned. 

* * *

The summer turned into autumn, and the three of them were further cemented as a team while they tried to collect what food they could. One evening, while they were simply sitting and resting in the Meadow after trading at the Hob and putting away the rest of their spoils, secrets were shared. 

Yagi activated his Quirk, revealing his true identity, and told Flare about his time limit and injuries. 

Izuku introduced himself to Flare, saying, “I’m Midoriya Izuku. What’s your name?” 

“Kimura Akari,” she replied, holding out her hand for Izuku to shake. “It was nice working with you, and I hope we’ll continue to work together.” 

“Likewise,” Izuku answered, and shook her hand. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes longer while Izuku wondered if he should finally just say it. He looked at Kimura, remembered her coming to his and Yagi’s rescue like some legendary hero of old, and decided yes, he could tell her. 

“I’m also Quirkless,” Izuku said, and waited for her reaction. 

“That’s interesting,” Kimura replied simply. “I’ve never met anyone Quirkless other than you.” 

“Well, it’s a lot less common among the younger generation,” Yagi said while Izuku reeled from the fact that Kimura didn’t care that he was Quirkless, didn’t care that he was supposedly useless. 

“You really don’t care, huh?” Izuku said quietly. 

“I saw how they treat you at school,” she answered, just as quiet. “And after seeing you in the woods, I know you’re not useless. I know you’re not weak.” Kimura looked up, meeting eyes with Izuku. “I won’t be like them. Midoriya, you are much more than your Quirklessness, and I respect you.” 

* * *

“You alright?” Yagi asked them as they met at their meeting point after splitting off and hunting and gathering on their own. It was the dead of winter, and they were scavenging what they could find in the woods. “Nothing wrong?” 

“We’re fine, Dad, don’t worry,” Izuku said. 

He didn’t realize what he’d said until Kimura burst out laughing at Yagi’s expression. 

After lots of apologizing and stammering on Izuku’s part, Yagi had finally managed to say, “It’s alright, young Midoriya. You can call me what you like.” 

“Alright, then. Toshinori,” Izuku said. 

* * *

That spring, when Toshinori’s wounds continued to take their toll on him, Izuku and Kimura were both saddened but not surprised when he said that he would have to stop hunting in the woods and just rest for then. 

“Both of you have learned so much, and I’m proud of you,” Toshinori said to them. “Continue what you’re doing, continue practicing, continue learning, work together, and you’ll be absolutely fine.” 

Going into the woods that day was a daunting task for both of them. The woods seemed so quiet and so empty without their teacher. That day, Izuku and Kimura both learned that they would have to rely on each other to have their backs more than they ever had to before. 

While they headed back home for the Seam after leaving the Hob, Kimura said quietly to Izuku, “Call me Akari.” 

Izuku blinked, surprised, but then reminded himself that they were hunting illegally together, and a first-name basis probably wasn’t much compared to that. “Okay,” he replied, “but only if you call me Izuku as well.” 

“It’s a deal, Izuku,” Akari said. 

* * *

School was different for Izuku now. Instead of spending his free time hidden in some corner and hoping the bullies wouldn’t come after him, he spent free time with Akari. Their lunch time fell on the same period, since they were in the same year. No longer completely ostracized and isolated, class and school itself was much more bearable. 

Once a few older students came around to attack Izuku, and one of them had a Quirk that produced sparks. Akari blew their plans up in their faces - literally. The moment the student with the sparking Quirk produced a spark, Akari used her Quirk to blow the spark into a full-on burst of flame. Luckily, no one was seriously harmed. 

Izuku had also grown stronger, due to somewhat more steady nourishment from the food he’d gathered from the woods with Akari and the training and exertion he went through to get it. 

His school life wasn’t perfect, but it was much better than before. 

* * *

After their second reaping, for the 97th Hunger Games, Akari said to Izuku, “Come meet my family. Get to know them.” 

Izuku asked, “Why?” 

Akari sighed and looked away. “In case I get chosen for the Hunger Games and die. I need to make sure someone’s there to look after them.” 

Alright, that made sense. Izuku nodded and said, “Alright. After that, I’ll take you to meet my mom.” 

* * *

Akari’s mother, Kimura Haruna, worked as a cleaner in the merchants’ section of District 12. She invited Izuku in warmly and brewed tea for him and Akari while they sat at the dinner table, chatting idly with an unspoken agreement to avoid the topic of the Games. Akari’s sister, Akane, was six years younger than her and looked extremely similar to her older sister, with the same rich red hair and bright gold eyes. She peered in through the open kitchen door, and Akari beckoned her in to meet Izuku. 

Mom was quite surprised when Akari came with Izuku to their home the next evening. 

They had brought fresh game and plants home with them, along with a large basket of dandelions. Akari spent the dinner at Izuku’s house, helping them cook and prepare dinner while chatting idly as they ate. Akari entertained both Izuku and Inko by manipulating the flame of the lamp on the table with her Quirk, twisting it into different shapes and making it dance, throwing light around the kitchen. 

The agreement between them to not only keep each other safe in the woods but to also provide for each other’s families was cemented after those meetings. 

* * *

They knew that Toshinori had enough money for food, but that still didn’t stop them from coming often to his house in the Victors’ Village to bring some of what they had hunted or foraged in the woods, because they knew how much he enjoyed the taste of fresh game. Toshinori would pay them fairly despite their insistence otherwise, as if he were another trading partner, and give them praise for their progress in hunting. 

“You’ve grown so much, young Izuku, young Akari,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”

Toshinori would often regale them with tales of hunting in the woods, or sometimes, with enough persuading, his time in the Games. 

Yagi Toshinori was well known for not only surviving one of the Games, but two. The third Quarter Quell had come the year after Toshinori won his first game, demanding that the tributes be reaped from the existing pool of victors in each district. 

District 12 had exactly two victors at that time, Shimura Nana and Yagi Toshinori. Both of them had been sent back into the arena. They had formed an alliance with a few other tributes, working to figure out the arena traps and trying to survive in general. Sixteen tributes died in the first two days, and on the third night, an explosion near the edge of the arena killed most of the alliance, including Shimura Nana. The last remaining few were killed off by arena traps in the next few days, leaving Toshinori the sole survivor. 

Izuku and Akari both knew that his time in the Games were difficult for him, but they were curious, and they both wanted to know how to survive the arena and the tribute attacks in the event that they were reaped for the Games. 

The three of them were an inseparable trio, bound by secret hours in the woods trying to provide for others. 

It hit close to home and many tears were shed when a fire broke out in the Victors’ Village in late summer, and Yagi Toshinori was pronounced dead, leaving only one surviving victor of District 12. 

* * *

“I wish we could do more to celebrate him,” Izuku said to Akari as they stood in the Meadow, looking towards the woods in late afternoon. The late spring sun shone down on them, making Akari’s red hair practically glow in the warm light, like fire. “That funeral we attended was nice and all, but it didn’t seem, I don’t know, earnest.” 

It had been a few weeks since Toshinori died. The time for tears was over. Both Izuku and Akari had cried themselves out over Toshinori’s death. Izuku wasn’t surprised at his reaction. He was something of a crybaby, truth be told. But it hurt, seeing brave, fiery Akari break down crying with no attempt to hide her tears. 

They were both tired, and didn’t just want to cry at Toshinori’s death. 

Akari sighed out. “Well, I have an idea,” she said. “It’s extravagant, and hard to get done, and the materials needed will be really expensive and hard to trade for. It might even take years, if not months, in order to get what we need. But I think it’ll be worth it.” 

“I’m listening,” Izuku said. 

And so Akari told him.

* * *

Their third reaping, for the 98th Hunger Games, had come and gone. 

Akari sometimes ranted in the woods about the Games. She railed about how the death and violence it caused was just so pointless, and so unfair. She railed about how they hardly even needed the Games themselves to keep the districts downtrodden, and how the poverty itself in the districts will work by itself. She railed about how they would send innocent children to their deaths, when their ancestors’ rebellion wasn’t their fault. 

Izuku wished she wouldn’t do that. It didn’t do anything but waste hunting time. Besides, it wasn’t their job to worry about Capitol politics and the morality of the Games. Their job was to provide food for themselves and their families, and to survive. But he let her, because he knew that it was better that she say everything in the woods, where there’s nobody around, rather than in the district, where people could hear. 

* * *

Sometimes, when all of their hunting and gathering work was done, they would play games of heroes and villains in the woods. A childish thing to do, perhaps, but it helped them keep some semblance of innocence in their lives. They would take turns being heroes or villains or sometimes civilians, like in their childhood stories. Akari would often poke fun at Izuku for his hero complex, which showed itself even outside of their game. 

It was all in fun, though. 

They knew that in real life, there would be no heroes to save them. 

* * *

Izuku learned that practice does make perfect. He and Akari would practice their archery in the woods whenever they had time, and Akari would often train her Quirk in the woods when they had more free time. Toshinori had left behind homemade targets along with his bows and arrows in the woods. 

Soon enough, they were known within the Hob as not only All Might’s former students, but some of the most skilled archers and marksmen in the entire district. Izuku, the better of the two, was known for how his arrows almost always struck the vitals of the prey, killing them quickly and efficiently. 

Toshinori had handcrafted his bows and arrows with painstaking work and patience. Izuku and Akari tried to copy his work to create their own weapons. Arrows were easier, but bows were much harder to carve and string, and they had yet to make a working bow. 

Weapons were illegal in the districts, forbidden by the Capitol’s laws. The fact that they possessed weapons and knew how to use them with deadly accuracy gave Izuku a hot, savage sense of satisfaction. 

_You once said I was useless and weak because I was Quirkless, Kacchan. Would you think differently if you saw what I’m capable of now?_

* * *

You’d think that because everyone in the district faced the common enemies of starvation, the Hunger Games, and the Capitol, they’d be too busy to worry about each other. However, Izuku learned that wasn’t the case. 

It had been a slow day in the woods in the middle of winter, without much prey and no plants to pick. Izuku and Akari had spent most of the day without success, with Izuku only managing to shoot one squirrel and Akari having gathered only a bit of pine tree bark. 

After stashing their bows and arrows in their hiding spot in the woods, the pair headed back out to the Meadow as darkness began to fall. When the Meadow came into sight from the tree line, Akari paused and said quietly to Izuku, “Hey, isn’t that Sousaki’s nephew?” 

Sousaki Shino, more commonly known among the crowd as Mandalay, worked in the Hob selling bowls of soup straight out of the pot. She was a good trading partner of theirs for years, consistently buying wild dog meat off of them when they were cornered in the woods by dogs and shot a few. She had a team of herself and three others that she worked closely with in the Hob, and she had an orphaned nephew, Kouta, living with her. Kouta was a few years younger than Izuku and Akari, and was rude in general, spitting insults at anyone who approached him. 

A tall figure dressed in a heavy winter cloak walked up to Kouta, who was still playing in the field. Akari drew back into the shadows of the trees, pulling out her matchbox, and Izuku reluctantly followed her, watching. 

The tall man said something to Kouta, who spat something back, then pulled off the cloak to show his face. Kouta screamed as the man advanced. 

Izuku leapt up, spurred into action at the sight of the man’s body language, his body moving on its own. The sight was something he was familiar with. It was the sight of a hunter with the intent to kill advancing on the prey. 

The fence quiet and unelectrified, Izuku nimbly ducked under it and ran towards the pair on the field without breaking stride. His aim was best with a bow and arrow, but he’d say that his aim with a knife wasn’t bad either. 

Izuku’s knife sailed through the air and buried itself into the man’s shoulder. The man turned away from Kouta and to Izuku, easily pulling the knife out and tossing it to the side. Fear filling him, Izuku twitched at the sight of his face. The man was missing one eye, and a long scar ran down the side of his face. 

“Hm, you wanna die too?” the man said. “Ah well, one more’s not gonna make a difference.” 

There was a burst of heat and light behind Izuku, and Akari leapt forward, fire blooming out behind her and throwing orange light across the white snow. 

The next few minutes were a wild blur of fear and pain and screaming and light. The man had a muscle augmentation Quirk, which made it hard for them to keep up. However, he was weakened from the long winter without much to eat and the cold. Izuku and Akari both were accustomed to the weather and temperatures of the woods, and had been training for years. They both took hits, but it wasn’t anything too serious and they would always drag themselves back up. 

Izuku scrambled to the side and out of the way as Akari blasted flames forward, illuminating the darkening sky in an explosion of warm light. He snatched up his fallen knife and pulled another one from his belt as the man reeled back, screaming, as Akari advanced. 

She was forced backwards as the man swung a Quirk enlarged fist at her. Izuku took the opening and dove forward, plunging a knife into his back but hitting only muscle. 

They continued like that, one advancing and one falling back and switching places again and again to tire out their enemy. 

Izuku narrowly avoided another blow as Akari drove the flames forward again. Her flames struck the man in the face, and Izuku took the opening to leap up and deliver a heavy blow to his head. 

The man collapsed on the ground, and then there was only the howling wind to be heard. 

_Did we really do that?_ Izuku numbly wondered. _We fought, and we won._

“Come on! We have to go!” 

Akari’s voice broke Izuku out of his daze. He watched as she ran over to Kouta, picked him up and, and jerked her head in the direction of the Hob. 

Understanding, Izuku ran to catch up with her as they started running to the Hob. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Izuku said to Kouta, who was crying silently in Akari’s arms. “We’re heading back to your aunt, okay?” He forced a smile onto his face, trying to reassure him. 

Kouta nodded mutely. 

When they arrived at the warehouse, Izuku hauled the door open for Akari. It was difficult, since the adrenaline was beginning to wear off and he could feel the pain of his injuries more acutely than before, but Akari was still up and running while carrying someone else, so he didn’t have much room to complain. 

They jogged through the near empty Hob, attracting a couple curious looks, but they ignored them and kept on moving until they got to Sousaski’s place. 

Sousaski turned to greet them, and shock filled her eyes when she saw the state they were in. When she started to ask, Akari cut off, “We were attacked by some maniac with a muscle-enhancing Quirk. Managed to keep him away from your nephew, and left him there in the Meadow. You might wanna call some Peacekeepers to pick him up, without mentioning us, y’know how it goes.” 

She thanked them profusely, and set to bandaging their injuries. All things considered, their injuries weren’t too serious. There were no broken bones or sprains, but both of them had many large bruises that could hurt for several days to come. 

As they were leaving, Kouta walked up to them and said quietly, “Thanks for saving me.” 

Izuku paused, and considered the rude, angry child that they usually avoided when trading with Sousaki, who was now coming up to them and thanking them for what they had done. 

With nothing else to say, they each responded with a mumbled “You’re welcome.” 

* * *

Spring came early that year, and Izuku and Akari were heading into the woods earlier and staying for longer times. Their families were familiar with each other after many meetings with their mothers sharing commiserating comments on the dangerous activities of their children. 

The sun was beginning to set when they finally counted up their spoils and started to head back, when they heard movement in the nearby undergrowth. 

In a flash, both of them had their bows up and arrows aimed at the direction the sound had come from. Izuku was distantly reminded of when he first met Akari in the woods. He and Toshinori had been on their guard as well, but Toshinori was gone now. 

A voice called from the brush, “We don’t mean harm! We’re hunters as well!” 

Akari and Izuku exchanged glances, and at Izuku’s nod, Akari lowered her bow and Izuku did the same. 

Two other teenagers came out from the undergrowth, both of them appearing to be a few years older than Izuku and Akari. The taller of them had shoulder-length blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and the shorter had messy indigo hair falling in his eyes and sticking up in the back. 

“Oh! You two are Deku and Flare, All Might’s students, aren’t you?” the taller of the two asked brightly. 

“We are,” Izuku replied, disarmed by his cheeriness. 

“I’m Lemillion,” he said, “and this is Suneater.” He nodded towards his companion, and Suneater lowered his head. 

“Nice to meet you,” Akari supplied, seeming just as surprised as Izuku felt their friendliness and outright lack of hostility or even caution. 

“Nice to meet you too, fabled students of All Might!” came the reply. “We wanted to ask if you could teach us how to shoot.” 

“E-excuse me?” Izuku asked, both confused and surprised. 

“I said that we wanted to ask if you could teach us how to shoot,” Lemillion continued, while Suneater backed away a half step. “We’ve heard stories about you. We’ve heard stories about your accuracy in shooting and your efficiency at hunting. We want to work together with you, so we can learn to be better hunters. Using traps and snares alone doesn’t get that much done, and just involves waiting.” 

“Umm, sure?” Izuku managed. 

“Great!” 

“But I don’t know if we can trust you,” Izuku admitted. 

At this, Suneater quietly stepped forward. “You can trust us because we don’t have anything to gain by backstabbing you,” he said quietly. “It’s in the best interest of everyone involved if we work together as a team and make sure all our families have food.” 

And Izuku had to admit that it made sense. 

And so, their pair became a small squad. 

Nearly every chance they got after school, the group made their way out into the woods one by one, as to not attract attention. Izuku gave Lemillion and Suneater a couple spare bows that Toshinori had lying around and began to teach them how to shoot. In return, they shared what they knew about snares, which turned out to be quite a lot. Izuku’s fingers would hurt for hours afterwards from tying tricky knots. 

Akari was the one who brought up Quirk training. Since Quirk use was illegal in the district, they would have nowhere to practice using their Quirks. The only other choice was to practice in the woods, outside the district laws. 

Lemillion and Suneater both agreed, one more enthusiastically than the other. 

Izuku, without a Quirk, would sit these sessions out and instead, take mental notes on the others’ Quirks and abilities. (Lemillion and Suneater accepted him for his Quirklessness the same way Akari did.)

The months passed, and Izuku’s and Akari’s fourth reaping passed, and Lemillion’s and Suneater’s last reaping passed, and neither of them were chosen for the 99th Hunger Games. That was a relief for all of them, given that their names would’ve been put into the Reaping dozens of times due to the tesserae that they’d all signed up for. 

However, a couple of Izuku’ and Akari’s classmates were chosen at the Reaping. When the Hunger Games was over a few weeks later, the dead bodies of the District 12 tributes were brought back home. The bodies were bled white, preserved, and dressed neatly in white clothing and packed neatly in wooden boxes - coffins. 

Their group of four stood near each other as the corpses were brought in. Akari spat under her breath, “I hate it when they bring the bodies back like that. I hate how they make the corpses look so pretty and calm. They’re fucking dead because of you, and you have the audacity to make them look so peaceful, as if they died in their sleep, surrounded by family?” 

Izuku placed a calming hand on her shoulder. They all knew that they couldn’t do anything, because the Capitol’s laws were all powerful. 

* * *

The months passed as summer turned into autumn. Their group of four grew closer, and Izuku and Akari learned that Lemillion’s and Suneater’s real names were Togata Mirio and Amajiki Tamaki. In turn, Izuku and Akari shared their real names as well. 

They started off on a last-name basis, which quickly turned into a first-name basis after learning their real names and breaking laws so often together. Even so, they always used their aliases when hunting in the woods, because they still ran the risk of being caught hunting illegally despite the fact that many citizens of the district, Peacekeepers included, were fed by their hunting. 

Mirio and Tamaki introduced them to their families and vice versa, and they spent a few evenings being entertained by Akari’s or sometimes Tamaki’s display of their Quirks. 

Under Izuku’s and Akari’s teaching, Mirio and Tamaki got quite good at shooting, but never on the same level of skill and accuracy as Akari, let alone Izuku, who was still steadily improving his archery and was known among the Hob for how his shots were so accurate, they almost always struck the prey right in the eye, never hitting the body. And under Mirio’s and Tamaki’s teaching, Izuku and Akari learned more about snares than ever before and how to set more and more complicated traps to catch prey. 

Akari introduced Mirio and Tamaki to her and Izuku’s game of heroes and villains, which they still kept playing for laughs, despite its childishness. Adding two more members doubled the amount of goofing-off they got into. 

One early morning in late summer, the group gathered in the woods at Izuku’s insistence. The sun was barely up, but he had insisted they arrive early, because the destination he had in mind was much farther than their usual hunting grounds. 

Izuku had only gone there once with Toshinori, but he still remembered the route. The group weaved through trees, weapons and game and forage bags slung over their backs as they trekked through the forest. The effort paid off when they arrived at their destination: a lake deep into the woods. 

They had spent the day hunting waterfowl, fishing, gathering berries from nearby bushes, and gathering katniss roots from the lake. There were so many easy pickings that they easily made up for all the missed hunting time travelling to the lake. In their spare time, Izuku tried to recall Toshinori’s swimming lessons and attempted to teach the others how to swim in the lake. The rest of the day was spent in a haze of fun. 

Whenever Izuku was in the woods, whether it was with Toshinori, with Akari, with their squad, or even by himself, there was always a feeling with him that he couldn’t name. That feeling vanished whenever he returned to the district, where there were so many other people watching him and judging him for his Quirklessness. He now knew what that feeling was: he felt free. 

* * *

Weapons were illegal in the district, they all knew very well. So when rumors about a type of bullet that could disable Quirks started floating through the black market, their group of four immediately started taking interest. 

They managed to trace the information and the rumors to its source, and to its producer, a man named Chisaki Kai, more commonly known as Overhaul. Chisaki had offered them some of the specialized bullets in exchange for food, but they declined, sensing that something was off. 

Izuku and Mirio, who had been the ones to negotiate with Chisaki, dug deeper into the case. This became so time-consuming that Akari and Tamaki were the ones that left the district to hunt for all of them while Izuku and Mirio scoured the Hob for more information. 

After several days digging, they had come across what was assumed to be Chisaski’s base of operations in a corner of the merchants’ section of the district. Upon further investigation and listening to Chisaski’s subordinates’ talking and the observation of an event that was clearly meant to be kept hidden, they had discovered something horrifying: Chisaki had a daughter, Eri, and the bullets were manufactured by Chisaki taking her blood and crafting it into a serum that rewound Quirks until they no longer existed. 

After the news was shared with all four members of the squad, they began to plan. Judging by Eri’s escape attempt that was seen by Izuku and Mirio, she was clearly in pain and wanted to escape her father. 

A plan was formulated. 

It wasn’t carried out without problems, but the end result was the same. The Peacekeepers discovered Chisaki’s chain of weapons and his abuse to his daughter, while the connections to the four remained hidden. There were minimal injuries and no one had permanently lost their Quirks. 

Chisaki, along with his subordinates that the Peacekeepers captured, was publicly executed a few days later, and Eri was taken in by Mirio’s family. 

Izuku knew very well that there were no heroes in this world. But seeing Eri safe, and remembering Kouta as well, almost made him feel like one. 

* * *

“What exactly are we doing?” Mirio asked as the group of four trekked through the woods one late evening, in the dusk in mid-autumn at Izuku’s and Akari’s insistence. All their hunting and gathering had long been finished, but they were staying out late. 

“Just something that should’ve been done a long time ago,” Akari replied. “Deku and I just weren’t able to get our hands on this particular item.” 

They walked deeper into the woods, until they came to an area where the trees stopped and opened up into a large plain. 

Izuku took off the bag he was carrying and opened it, taking out four pistols and handing them out, one for each person. He was trembling slightly with anticipation and nervousness, and with something writhing in his chest where his heart was, too complicated to explain. It was Akari who suggested it a couple years ago, and they had been planning and working, dragging themselves slowly towards their goal. Now, they had reached that goal, and with two new teammates. 

“You got guns? How?” Tamaki asked uneasily, looking down at the gun in his hand. 

“Flare guns,” Akari replied. “And no, that’s not a reference to my alias. They’re already loaded, so please be careful. It also shouldn’t be hard to figure out how to fire them. Just hold the handle, aim, and pull the trigger.” 

“These are cool and all,” Mirio said, “but why exactly do we have them? What are we doing, again? And how did you get them?” 

“Lots of trading,” Izuku said, only answering Mirio’s last question. “Some Peacekeepers have these to send signals when needed. I had to trade so many turkeys in order to get these off them.” 

“Aight. Line up, against the tree line. We’ve been planning this for years, and we don’t want to mess it up,” Akari said. 

Tamaki and Mirio seemed confused, but complied anyway, alongside Akari and Izuku. 

“Deku, wanna do the honours?” Akari asked. “You were closest to him, after all.” 

Izuku shook his head. “You too,” he replied. “We were both his students.” 

“No,” Akari said. “I want you to. You knew him longest, after all.” 

“Okay. But are you sure-” 

“I already said yes,” Akari answered, slightly impatient, while Mirio and Tamaki looked on in slight confusion. 

“Alright.” Izuku squared his shoulders and looked out over the field. 

“We are here to celebrate the victor, Yagi Toshinori,” he said. Mirio and Tamaki looked at him, surprised, while Akari’s face was set like stone. “He was more than just a victor to us, though. He was the hunter, All Might, and a mentor to us. He was the one who taught us how to survive, and we are forever grateful to him for that. Thank you, Toshinori, for everything you’ve done for us. We have continued to learn and work together, like you said, and we will continue to fight on in your name.” 

With that, Izuku aimed his flare gun to the sky, and fired. 

With a bang, a bright red light shot out, followed by a tail of smoke, illuminating the darkening sky in an extravagant display of colour that called out their appreciation and gratefulness towards Toshinori. 

Akari lifted her gun next and fired as well, setting off a flare of bright gold light and smoke. “Thank you, Toshinori, for everything you’ve done. I saved you and Izuku once, and you two helped me in return. Thank you, again,” she said softly in a rare display of quietness. 

Following their example, Mirio and Tamaki lifted their guns and fired, twin flares of blue shooting into the sky. Tamaki murmured a quiet, “Thank you,” while Mirio said, “All Might, I never knew you personally, but you’ve taught your students well, and we’ve learned from them. Thank you for teaching them, because they, in turn, taught us.” 

And then, they stood there, until the light and smoke from the flares faded. 

“That was quite the speech you got there, Deku,” Akari finally said, breaking the silence when the last slivers of smoke drifted away. “You got sappy - are you crying from the smoke or are you crying from the memories?” 

“Probably both,” Izuku murmured, drawing a finger under his eye to catch the moisture that fell. “Actually, probably because of the last one, because you all fired your own flares and no one’s crying, like me.” 

“It’s okay, Deku,” Mirio said. “It’s alright to cry when you feel like it.” 

“Thanks,” Izuku said quietly. He wiped the last of the tears from his face, and slid his flare gun into his bag. 

“Um, you guys want these guns back?” Tamaki asked. “I know that you and Flare spent lots of time trying to get these.” 

“Nah, you guys keep them,” Akari said. “You never know when they might be useful. Right now, though, we’re out of ammo for them, so you’ll have to wait for Deku and I to get more.” 

Once Mirio and Tamaki were convinced to keep their flare guns, the group began to head back to District 12. 

Izuku fell back and let the others take the lead, the thought of Toshinori heavy on his mind. Akari noticed, and slowed down to walk beside him. 

“You alright?” Akari asked. “If there’s anything wrong, you’ll tell me?” 

“I’m fine, Flare,” Izuku muttered. “There’s nothing for me to say.” 

Akari sighed, and then said, “Deku. You’re lying.” 

Izuku paused to look at her. 

“Please,” Akari said quietly, surprisingly earnest and soft compared to her usually fiery exterior. “It’s okay to need help. We all lost something, and I can tell you’re hurt. Please don’t lie to me. Promise me that you’ll never lie to us.” 

“I…” Izuku said, “I...wish Toshinori was still with us. I wish this world wasn’t so horrible. I wish lots of things, and it’s been weighing on me. I can’t promise I’ll tell you everything, but I promise not to lie to you, as long as you do the same.” 

“Alright,” replied Akari. “I promise too.” 

* * *

Winter came once again. Having spent much of the autumn preparing for the winter, this winter wasn’t particularly harsh for the four hunters. With four people hunting as a team instead of just two hunting in a pair, along with tesserae and trading, they managed to collect more supplies than previous years. This was even with the added weight of making sure Kouta and Eri, the two kids that had been saved, were eating enough. 

Another blizzard set in one night. Akari, along with her sister and mother, were gathered in Izuku’s house with Mom, drinking tea and waiting for the television to come on. They were gathered around where a fire was burning in the fireplace for warmth. 

The coming summer would be the Reaping of the 100th Hunger Games and 4th Quarter Quell, meaning that this winter, a card would be drawn to see what twist on the rules would be put to make the Games more interesting. 

Mom switched the television on, and a live feed showed the President of the Capitol. No one knew who the President’s real name was, and no one knew what he looked like because he had a black mask and helmet obscuring his face. However, everyone knew that he had some Quirk that let him live for a very long time, and he had been alive since the first Games. 

After the national anthem played, the President began with the reason behind the Hunger Games, which is to remind everyone that they are at the Capitol’s power, and how every twenty-five years, a Quarter Quell would be held. 

“On the twenty-fifth anniversary,” the President said, “in order to commemorate that it was the districts’ choice to sacrifice their children to the rebellion, the tributes were chosen by the people from their district. 

“On the fiftieth anniversary, in order to remember that two rebels died for every Capitol citizen, twice the number of tributes were reaped from the districts. 

“On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder that even the strongest can not overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes were reaped from the existing pool of victors of each district.” 

The President drew a card from a box, labeled with a _C_ , opened it, and read, “On the one hundredth anniversary of the Hunger Games, as a reminder that the rebels’ decision to fight back against the Capitol cost thousands of innocent lives of people that had no part in the rebellion, civilians from the districts other than the tributes reaped will be placed in the area.” 

Izuku’s mind went blank. _No. That can’t be. Only the tributes will die in the arena. This wasn’t part of the rules. They can’t put other people in there._

Akari elbowed him, bringing him back to the President’s speech. 

“...not part of the original Hunger Games agreement, so this means that the civilians can escape the arena alive, although only one tribute may survive the Quell. This means that in this Quell, the tributes will be given a chance to atone for the sins of their ancestors. The tributes will be given the chance to keep the civilians out of danger so that they may be rescued at the end of the Quell, before turning to fight each other. In other words, the tributes will be given the chance to act as heroes.” 

Izuku sat blankly, staring at the screen of the television. Once the broadcast was over, Mom switched it off, and engaged Haruna in discussion. 

Akari was silent as well, and Izuku could hear what she was thinking. Akane, at ten years old, as well as Mirio and Tamaki, at nineteen, were safe from the Reaping. But Kouta and Eri were turning twelve, becoming eligible, and Izuku and Akari were sixteen and had taken out tesserae. Each one of them was possible for being thrown into the Quell and have the weight of not only their own survival on their shoulders, but the survival of civilians as well. 

Outside, the storm raged, while they sat indoors, lost in thought, but currently safe in the warmth of the fire. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, Akari and her family are OCs of mine that I stuck in this AU. Akari be quite important in the coming fic. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
